Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: Clarence de Haut-Brion boasts all the class and exotic personality of the grand vin, but with slightly stiffer tannins and not quite the same generosity of texture. That said, there isn’t another second wine to touch it!

Michael Schuster: A plush, plummy Merlot ripeness to the fore on the nose; elegantly balanced, fresh, linear medium-weight with a dusty-fine tannin; a pure, sweet-fruit core, long, easy, and subtle, quite complex, and with a fine, mineral-tinged finish. A graceful and refined, more feminine counterpart to the La Chapelle de La Mission. 2014–25. 16/17